[Intro] (Slow, mournful acoustic guitar picking begins. A low, weeping cello slowly joins in, creating a deeply sorrowful and intimate atmosphere.) [Verse 1] The storm has passed but left a bitter mark You're shivering beside me in the dark Your skin is burning with a sudden heat A quiet tremor down into your feet We have no medicine to ease the pain Just dirty water from the toxic rain I wipe the sweat across your weary brow We can't afford to lose each other now. [Chorus] The fever rises as the shadows fall We have nothing left to build a wall Between the sickness and the fragile breath A quiet dance upon the edge of death I'll carry you across this barren land As long as I have strength to hold your hand We have to keep the dying flame awake Until the fever breaks. [Verse 2] We build a stretcher from the broken wood And pull you forward just the best we could For staying here is just a waiting grave We have to move to keep the life we save Every single mile is heavier than the last The ghosts of yesterday are approaching fast You mumble words from a different time Losing your reason, losing the rhyme. [Chorus] The fever rises as the shadows fall We have nothing left to build a wall Between the sickness and the fragile breath A quiet dance upon the edge of death I'll carry you across this barren land As long as I have strength to hold your hand We have to keep the dying flame awake Until the fever breaks. [Verse 3] I watch your chest rise up and fall so slow Under the pale moon's unforgiving glow I try to rest but keep my ear awake Listening for every shallow breath you take What will I do if morning finds you still? A lonely cross upon a silent hill I whisper prayers to a blackened sky Pleading with the dark to pass us by. [Chorus] The fever rises as the shadows fall We have nothing left to build a wall Between the sickness and the fragile breath A quiet dance upon the edge of death I'll carry you across this barren land As long as I have strength to hold your hand We have to keep the dying flame awake Until the fever breaks. [Outro] (The acoustic guitar slows its pace, picking individual strings. The cello holds a single, low sustained note that pulses like a fading heartbeat, eventually drifting into complete silence.)
